


Coffee and Cake

by Jadesfire



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-30
Updated: 2010-03-30
Packaged: 2017-10-08 12:39:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadesfire/pseuds/Jadesfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is nothing in the world that doesn't seem better over a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee and Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Both [](http://demotu.livejournal.com/profile)[**demotu**](http://demotu.livejournal.com/) and [](http://crystalshard.livejournal.com/profile)[**crystalshard**](http://crystalshard.livejournal.com/) requested a follow-up to [What Not to Buy](http://heretoutopia.livejournal.com/39488.html), so I couldn't very well refuse. With thanks as usual to [](http://miss-zedem.livejournal.com/profile)[**miss_zedem**](http://miss-zedem.livejournal.com/), for Cardiff help and a prompt.

  
The café wasn't too busy, but Ianto still led Gwen upstairs and out onto a small, sheltered terrace, protected by the next building on one side and a high trellis on the other. Below them, Gwen could hear cars and voices, the city going about its business while she and Ianto drank coffee and split a piece of carrot cake between them.

"So," Ianto said, when he'd finished pulling almost obscene faces over his first mouthful of cake, "two weeks to go. Getting nervous?"

"No." Gwen licked the last of the frosting from her fork and shrugged. "I've had enough time to get used to it, and it's not like I can change my mind now."

Looking at her over the rim of his cup, Ianto raised an eyebrow. "But you wouldn't, even if you could, right?"

Gwen shook her head, dropping her gaze back to the cake and spearing herself another piece. Behind her, a wind chime was sounding in the light breeze, a counterpoint to the traffic and people on the street, and Ianto's comfortable, patient silence. She carefully lifted the fork to her mouth, delaying her answer and closing her eyes at the sweet, moist cake. It really was very good.

When she opened her eyes again, Ianto was still watching her expectantly, and she ducked her head. "Nope. No second thoughts, no changing my mind, no regrets."

"Then you're lucky." Ianto's voice was light, but his eyes were distant, gazing out towards the shops and bustle of St Mary Street. Behind him, the tall buildings and towering bulk of the Millennium Stadium cast deep shadows across the street even as they seemed to glow in the sunshine. There were clouds gathering, though, and it looked like the Cardiff weather was going to have one of its frequent mood swings. The breeze was picking up, and Gwen shivered.

"I guess I am," she said, just a little too brightly. "Maybe we all are. I mean, we saved the world a few times, we didn't die, we saved a lot of lives, Jack's back…" She trailed off as a flash of something passed across Ianto's face, happiness and regret and maybe something a little like longing, all of it disappearing as soon as she looked at him properly.

"Yes, he is." Ianto had both hands wrapped around his coffee cup, swirling it gently so that the thick aroma temporarily overwhelmed the smell of petrol from the road below. "He came back."

"For you." It was out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying, and like her, Ianto seemed to be caught in the echo of Jack's words.

"For all of you," he said, and tilted his head. "All of _us_."

"Well, yes, but-" Stopping short, Gwen realised that she had no idea what to say. This was the subject that had been most definitely _not talked about_ during Jack's absence, all of them missing Jack too much, all of them too focussed on carrying on to elevate one person's grief above another's. And if Gwen had sometimes found Ianto sitting at Jack's desk, his hands just resting lightly on its surface, and his face strangely blank, then she'd never said anything. And if he'd found her rummaging through the supply cupboard for a new box of tissues, make-up smeared and eyes red-rimmed, then he'd never said anything either. He'd never treated her as a rival, and she'd never been jealous. That wasn't how it had worked, and they'd both – all – understood that..

"He came back for all of us," Ianto said again, and when Gwen looked into his eyes this time, she could see that somewhere under all that seriousness and politeness and earnestness, he was smiling.

And it was infectious, that hidden smile, and she found herself grinning. "Yes. Yes, he did," she said, and lifted her coffee cup, touching it to his in an unspoken toast. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, finishing their coffee, and listening to the sounds of the city around them. After a few minutes, Ianto set his cup down and leaned forwards, arms folded on the table and face grave.

"Gwen," he said, his voice low and intense, "can I ask you something?"

She swallowed her mouthful before she could choke on it, then pressed her lips together for a moment before leaning forwards as well. "Alright."

Ianto cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I have the last piece of cake?"

On the street below, an elderly lady tried to gather up her fallen groceries, complaining about people who screamed with laughter in public places, frightening the life out of passers-by.

 


End file.
